Jaak Panksepp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jaak Panksepp
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Jaak Panksepp (on the right) at the promotion of honorary doctors at the University of Tartu (December 2004).
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| Born | June 5, 1943 |
| Died | April 18, 2017 (aged 73) Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh (BS, 1965) University of Massachusetts, Amherst (MS, 1967) (PhD, 1969) |
| Known for | Pioneer in affective neuroscience |
| Awards | Order of the White Star |
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| Fields | Psychology, Neuropsychopharmacology, Affective neuroscience, Behavioral neuroscience |
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Jaak Panksepp (born June 5, 1943 – died April 18, 2017) was an Estonian-American scientist. He studied the brain and how it creates emotions. He created the term "affective neuroscience". This field studies the brain's systems that cause feelings.
Panksepp worked at Washington State University and was a professor at Bowling Green State University. He was well-known for his research on how animals, like rats, can show signs of laughter.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jaak Panksepp was born in Tartu, Estonia, on June 5, 1943. When he was very young, his family moved to the United States. They were escaping the effects of World War II and the Soviet occupation of his home country.
He started his studies at the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. Later, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts.
Research on Emotions
Panksepp was a pioneer in studying emotions in animals. At the time, many scientists, like B. F. Skinner, believed that animal emotions were not important to study. They thought emotions were not real or could not be measured. Panksepp disagreed and faced challenges getting money for his research.
He believed that animals do have feelings, and we can study them. He wanted to understand how emotions work in the brain.
Rats and Fear
Panksepp did many experiments. In one study, he put cat hair near rats. The rats showed signs of fear, even if they had never seen a cat before. This suggested that rats might have an inborn fear of cats.
He thought that if researchers had pet cats, the smell of cat hair could accidentally make the lab rats scared. This might change the results of other experiments. He tried the same test with dog hair, but the rats did not show any fear.
Tickling Rats and Joy
Panksepp also studied joy in rats. In a 1999 TV show called Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry, he showed his work. He found that when he tickled domesticated rats, they made a high-pitched sound. He thought this sound might be a form of laughter. This research helped us understand that animals might experience joy, similar to humans.
Understanding Learning and Emotions
In his book Affective Neuroscience, Panksepp explained how learning works. He suggested that when we learn, our brains create special emotional states. These states act like internal codes. They help us understand what is important for our survival and well-being. He called the core part of our feelings the "core-SELF."
Death
Jaak Panksepp passed away on April 18, 2017. He died from cancer at his home in Bowling Green, Ohio. He was 73 years old.
Books
- Panksepp, J. (1998). Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Panksepp, J., and Biven, L. (2012). The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotion. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
See also
In Spanish: Jaak Panksepp para niños
- Affective neuroscience
- Empathy
- Laughter
- Neuroscience
- Social neuroscience
